News Articles » – Group Uses Hypnosis To Change Behaviors

Group Uses Hypnosis To Change Behaviors

Subconscious Mind Said To Absorb Suggestions

BY: Amy Brooke Williams

TAMPA – Carl Colmorgan narrowed his eyes in concentration.

As instructed, he tried to keep his arm perfectly still, dangling a piece of fishing line in front of his face. Using only his imagination, Colmorgen attempted to make the bead at the end of the filament spin in widening circles.

As he focused his attention on the thread, the bead began to stir. Tight, little circles turned into doughnut size loops, and when Colmorgan imagined the string swinging back and forth, the bead switched directions like a metronome.

Hypnotherapist Rena Greenberg stood before a room of about 40 students at University Community Hospital , watching each on concentrate on his or her string.

“How does it work?” she asked, building suspense before discrediting any supernatural occurance.

“You were moving your arms. You were imagining the pendulum moving, and your subconscious mind caused subtle movement in your muscles.”

Greenberg said a similar thing happens to people who practice self-hypnosis, a process of keeping the mind alert while relaxing the body almost to the point of sleep. In this state, the subconscious mind is more receptive to suggestions, Greenberg said.

Once a person’s subconscious mind absorbs new suggestions, he will find himself naturally modifying his behavior without all the struggle and frustration usually involved in breaking bad habits, she said.

Greenberg uses the pendulum exercise to illustrate that point at the end of the behavior modification program she hosts as director of Wellness Seminars, a company she founded in 1990.

A Bradenton resident, Greenberg travels to hospitals across Florida , leading students through hypnosis to help them change behaviors such as overeating and smoking.

Greenberg said most clients have at least 20 pounds to lose, although there are always a few people with very little to lose and others who are extremely obese.

They can all benefit from hypnosis, she said.

“Hypnosis is a state of deep relaxation and focused concentration. We’re going directly to the subconscious so we can change the negative images, change the perceptions. Without hypnosis, you tell yourself, ‘I’m only going to eat vegetables,’ but you’ll have a lot of ‘Yeah, buts.’ Hypnosis helps you change the perception so that you are naturally desiring vegetables more,” said Greenberg, a nationally certified hypnotherapist with a degree in psychology from Brooklyn College .
Practical Uses

While hypnosis might bring to mind comedy shows with volunteers barking like dogs one minute and waking with no memory of the event the next, Philip Shenefelt, associate professor of medicine at the University of South Florida, said the practice has much more practical uses.

“There is a misconception that people are out of it when in hypnosis, but typically they are aware and do remember what went on, unless they are in very, very deep hypnosis,” said Shenefelt, who uses hypnosis in his practice as a dermatologist.

He has found that guiding patients into hypnosis can help calm their fears before surgery, reduce pain or itching from skin conditions and modify habits such as scratching or picking at skin.

Off the clock, he has used hypnosis to help himself in weight loss and his friends in quitting smoking.

“When you’re overweight, there is a conflict between the conscious mind and the subconscious mind. The conscious mind says, ‘I know I want to lose weight,’ “ He said. However, the subconscious mind tosses up roadblocks such as emotional eating.

“Hypnosis can help get the two parts of the mind together,” he said.

Despite Shenefelt’s use of hypnosis, he cautions that some individuals trying to lose weight won’t respond to it, while others might be only mildly to moderately successful.

“Weight loss is tough. Unlike stopping smoking-where you either smoke or you don’t smoke-you can’t stop eating. You have to learn to modify your eating,” he said.
Repetition Helps

To increase the odds of successful behavior modification, Shenefelt encourages patients to repeat the hypnotic process 30 to 40 times.

Greenberg helps students do so by giving them audiocassettes of her voice guiding listeners into hypnosis. She encourages them to listen to it every day for a month and twice a week after that.

Once her students pay the initial $59 fee to attend the hypnotic portion of her seminar, they are welcome to come back as often as they like for free refresher sessions.

That’s what Colmorgen was doing when he attended the recent class at University Community Hospital . He first attended one of Greenberg’s seminars at Largo Medical Center in February. Since then, he has lost 28 pounds.

“I cannot explain it. All I know is I do things after her seminar that I have never done before. I leave food on my plate. I park in the farthest parking space so Ihave to walk more,” he said.

When a recent visit to his mother’s house, complete with lots of desserts, nudged Colmorgen off track, he decided to attend another seminar.

He said there is something about Greenberg’s voice that really works. He said he benefits from the slow, soothing way she urges students to relax, remove all thoughts from their minds and focus on their breathing.

After about 10 minutes of sitting in a darkened room, eyes closed, listening to Greenberg’s voice, students drift into a nearly asleep state in which the mind is especially alert.

Into this fertile ground Greenberg begins planting ideas about enjoying exercise, looking forward to healthy foods and having confidence in weight loss success.

At the end, she counts down from 7, encouraging her students to wake up alert and motivated when she gets down to 1.

Colmorgen, who preferred sitting on the floor during the hypnosis to sitting in the hospital’s straight-backed chairs, rose with a smile.

“I’m a believer,” he said.